Secrets
by The Part-Timer
Summary: Kushina has two secrets. One was the Kyuubi. The other was something much, much worse. And then Minato came along and loved her anyway. MinatoxKushina, SLIGHT AU.
1. Prologue

**Secrets**

_Kushina has two secrets. One was the Kyuubi. The other was something much, much worse. And then Minato came along and loved her anyway._

_**UPDATE: 18/5/2014**_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Prologue

"No, wait, Kushina-san, you can't just go in there –!"

"I don't care!" she snarled, pushing past the woman. She barged into the Hokage's room in fiery rage, which dimmed when he looked up.

"Hokage-sama," she said, bowing. Paper crackled in her clenched fist. She drew it out. This was it. She took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"I quit."

"Kushina, what –"

She slapped her resignation form down in front of the blinking Hokage. Slowly, he removed his tobacco pipe, glancing at the form to check that it was the real thing. It was.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked finally. "I thought you loved being a ninja."

She swallowed. She did, very much so, but she had other priorities now. "I did," she said. The Hokage's face turned grave.

"Kushina, you just came back from a year-long mission. I understand that it may have tired you –" Kushina snorted, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear "– but resigning is a serious matter. Maybe you should take some time off to think it over?"

"No," she bit off, frustrated. There was no other way. Why couldn't the old man see that? "I can't, old man. I have a kid now."

"What!" She startled when the Hokage grabbed her shoulders, having shunshin-ed past his desk. His grip was strong and firm. "Kushina, this was supposed to be an infiltration mission," he said in a strained voice. "What have you done?"

"Achieved the mission objective," she replied quietly. It was so out of character for the hot-blooded teenager that the Hokage pushed her away from him to look at her. "Hokage-sama," she begged, "Please don't take her away from me." _She's the only family I have_.

The Hokage understood her unspoken words. His eyes softened. "I won't," he said. "Where is she now?"

"At home, in bed." Her bottom lip was beginning to tremble from the strain of her choice, from the comfort her father figure was giving her. It was too much. Her breath hitched and she began to cry.

"What'm I gonna do, jiji?" she wailed, clutching at his arms. He pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Hush, hush, don't cry. It's all right." He petted her hair, ignoring the stink of travel that was packed in it. His mind was whirling with questions, but now was not the time to ask them. Kushina's crying slowed down to sniffles.

"I don't know what to _do_, jiji," she sighed. "I'm sixteen, being a ninja is all I know! And yet," a growl formed deep in her throat, "she's just a kid. I don't want her to end up like me."

This, he understood. Kushina was a spare child, a speck of dirt in the shadow of her siblings, the heirs to her clan. She had been…ah, _donated_, to Konoha when they required a fresh container for the Kyuubi, once Uzumaki Mito grew frail. It was determined that a blood relative would be more effective, since Mito had jailed the beast, the greatest of the nine, for decades where other jinchuuriki had lost themselves to lesser tailed beasts much sooner. And so the Kyuubi in her gut became Kushina's first secret.

It put her in the limelight. It also slashed her fragile ties with her family in Uzu, so she had no one left by the time she woke up in a sterile Konoha hospital crying for her mother. The Sandaime Hokage had become her closest family figure ever since.

So he understood her sentiments, from a historical standpoint. He couldn't, however, in good conscience leave her adrift with a baby in tow. Options raced through his mind.

"Kushina, take half a year of paid leave," he said, holding up a hand to forestall her resistance. "You are a capable jounin, and it would be a waste to let you go. So take a break, and once it's over come back to me and we'll figure things out. There are many ninja duties that do not require you to leave Konoha."

"Jiji…you mean it?" Tears threatened to fall again as she hugged the Sandaime tightly. "Thank you thank you _thank you!_" He chuckled.

"Of course I do, Kushina. Go along now, your baby must be hungry."

Nodding, she wiped her snotty nose on her sleeve, rubbed her eyes, and left. The Sandaime watched her go through his window.

What a cruel world it was, to have children bearing children before their time. He puffed his tobacco pipe regretfully.

He'd failed her once, but he wouldn't fail her again. He would protect the Leaf and everyone in it as much as he could.

….

Everyone knew her. The Useless Jounin, they called her, because she never took missions that were dangerous, out of the village, or anything that lasted more than a few hours, really. That left her with D-ranks and a few C's. In a village where even chunnin ventured out for missions, she was a miserable failure.

It wasn't unusual for chunnin to stagnate and fall into administrative duties, but it was very rare for a young, able-bodied jounin to do it. She shook off all their hostility like water off a duck's back. Long, red locks of hair swished behind her as she ascended the steps to the Hokage's office, balancing a stack of papers in her arms. She scrunched up her nose in disgust.

She remembered the day the Sandaime offered the job to her. His assistant was getting old, he said, and he needed someone to help her. Kushina _hated_ paperwork. She ranted, scowled, and snapped, but in the end she took up the job. The cold shoulder his secretary gave her right after told Kushina she was none too pleased at being called 'old' – not that she blamed her for that.

So here she was, a kunoichi in her prime, sticking her ass in a chair like a stupid paper-pusher. It was too much for the twenty-two year-old who constantly thirsted for action. It was a trigger-happy whip that lashed at her heels every morning. Especially Mondays. She really hated Mondays.

Today, unfortunately, was Monday. Her sole consolation was that the Hokage hated it too. She bit back a grin when she saw him looking forlornly at the stack of papers in her hands. She slapped them down on his desk with a vindictive chortle.

"Have fun, jiji," she teased. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Why did I ever hire you?" he said in mock despair. (The despair at his paperwork, though, was very real.)

"Aww, you know you love me," she said, still grinning. "Jii-chan, can I ask a favour?"

The Hokage eyed her warily. "Nothing good ever comes when you call me that."

Kushina pouted. "I'm not that transparent, am I?" At the Hokage's cocked eyebrow she sighed and relented. "Fine, fine, I am. It's just that it's Rika-chan's first day of school today and I want to be there when school ends. That's all."

Ah, Rika. The Hokage stroked his beard, remembering the precocious child who scared the living lights out of the Hokage Tower on a regular basis. Quite literally, once. He still winced at the thought of the kid going through the forest of wires to get to the generator unsupervised. Kushina almost had an apoplectic fit when she found her child near a sparking live wire.

She was the little terror her mother had been as a child, and somehow the resemblance there was striking where physical looks were not. She was six now, old enough to enroll in the Academy, and old enough to show that she didn't look like her mother. It broke Kushina's heart. The Hokage knew this, although his young assistant never said a word about it.

"Hmm, I suppose I can think about it…" he said, faking a frown. Kushina groaned.

"Just let me go already, jiji!" she whined. "I'll get you ramen later, my treat. Okay?"

"Well now, why didn't you say so earlier? Be off with you!"

Kushina face-faulted. "You're so lame, jiji." Then she brightened up and gave him a brief hug. "Thanks."

The Hokage smiled at her. "Go on now, before I decide to sic some of my work on you. Rika-chan will miss you if you're late."

She flashed him a look of horror and shunshined away. The Hokage chuckled and returned morosely to his pile of paperwork.

Oh, what wouldn't he give to get rid of them?

….

She reached the Academy five minutes before school let out, panting with the effort of continuous shunshins. _Must train harder_, she reminded herself as she got her wind back. She didn't want to give haters any more reason to call her The Useless Jounin – not that anyone called her that to her face. She'd punched the last one who tried.

"Hey, Mikoto!" She waved and grinned, loping over to where a young woman stood leaning on a stile, eyes searching for her charge to come out of the Academy. Mikoto smiled and waved back.

"Kushina, it's been a while," she said, nodding. "Waiting for Rika-chan?"

"Yeah. How's Itachi-kun? And the bastard?"

"Itachi-kun's fine," Mikoto said with a faint smile. "And you should really stop referring to Fugaku like that, Kushina."

The redhead snorted. "I will once he stops acting like a pompous jackass. Oh, hey, Rika-chan, over here!"

"Mama!" a child squealed, detaching herself from the crowd of kids swarming out of the Academy. Kushina opened her arms wide, catching her daughter in a leaping hug.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's dangerous to leap like that!" she scolded, but she grinned hard. "Had fun in school today, hon?"

"Hell yeah! I learned lots and lots and lots, and I made new friends too! Hi, Itachi-kun!"

"Hello, Rika-chan," Mikoto's brother replied, a little unnerved by her enthusiasm. Mikoto crossed the stile to pick him up.

"You should really watch your language around the kids, Kushina," Mikoto said. "I don't remember you saying something so crass that young." Kushina stuck out her tongue at her.

"She turned out just fine, haven't you Rika-chan?" She rubbed her nose against Rika's affectionately. "Come on, let's go to the park for some ice-cream, okay?"

"Yay, ice-cream!" Rika cheered. "Itachi-kun, want some?"

The boy perked up at the sound of his name. "Um," he said, looking up at his siser, who smiled and nodded. "Okay?"

"Whoopee! Mama, let's fly there, fly now!" Laughing, Kushina did just that, swinging her little girl onto her back and jumping over rooftops in the direction of the park.

"Race you there, Mikoto-chan!" she cried. Mikoto shook her head and took her brother's hand.

"Let's walk there. Aunt Kushina will wait for us, don't worry." Itachi nodded and fell into step beside her.

Sure enough, when they reached the park Kushina was waiting at the gates with two cones of ice-cream in her hands. Rika's face was a chocolatey mess.

"Come on, you two took forever! Let's bring the kids over to the playground, huh Mikoto? Rika-chan loves it!" Rika brightened at the thought.

"Yes, playground!" She swallowed her ice-cream in one great gulp and started to choke. "C-c-cold!" she stammered, shivering. Kushina rolled her eyes and smacked her back until she stopped choking.

"Silly girl, of course it'll be cold if you eat it all like that. And no, my ice-cream's mine." Rika turned on her best puppy-dog eyes, and Kushina relented, shoving one ice-cream into her daughter's hands. She beckoned to Itachi to take the other.

"It's for you," she explained, when he looked up dubiously.

"Thank you, Kushina-oba-san," he said, smiling a little when his mother nodded her encouragement. The two children ran off to the playground while the adults settled on a nearby bench. Kushina grinned when Rika immediately began to bully other kids around. Mikoto watched too, with much less excitement.

"Hey, Kushina," she murmured once she was sure no one could hear.

"Hmm?" Kushina said, keeping her eyes on her daughter. Mikoto took a deep breath.

"Why don't you tell them that Rika-chan's not yours? You know what they're saying about you in the shinobi ranks."

Kushina scowled and tucked her hair away. Her earlier mirth faded away. "I don't care," she muttered. "Besides, better me than her. She's innocent." Fists curled at her sides.

_And so are you, _Mikoto wanted to say, but she kept silent.

- Prologue: End.

Yep, that's her not-so-dirty secret. Got the idea when I was working on my first fic, **Absolution**, so I just fleshed it out to see if it'll work.

Feedback will be greatly appreciated. Should I continue this story?


	2. 1: Namikaze Minato

**Secrets**

_Kushina has two secrets. One was the Kyuubi. The other was something much, much worse. And then Minato came along and loved her anyway._

**_UPDATE: 18/5/2014_**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

1: Namikaze Minato

Minato's presence in the tower was causing quite a stir.

It wasn't because he did anything – oh no, and if he did, he always played it down. In fact, it was because he did nothing but smile and reply greetings that the Hokage Tower was getting roused at all. Minato deemed it a helpless cause and cut his way through to the Hokage's office as fast as he could.

_Fangirls. And boys. _He shuddered and rapped on the Hokage's door.

"Come in," a feminine voice floated through. Minato did a double-take. Since when was the Hokage female?

He opened the door just a crack and peered in, his hand on the doorknob. A woman with shocking red hair blinked at him.

"I said, come in," she repeated, yanking the door open.

"Wh-whoa!" Minato exclaimed, pulled forward by the momentum. He righted himself before he planted his face in her bosom. Her _very_ ample bosom. The woman's warning cough zipped his eyes to her face. She had pretty green eyes.

"Well, you're in," she said with distaste. She crossed her arms under her chest and gave him a kick to the rear. He fell all the way in. "Namikaze Minato-san? The Hokage will see you now."

And before the incredulous Minato could say anything, she spun on her heel and slammed the door.

He stared after her.

"I'd advise you against any unwise moves, Minato-kun. My assistant can be a very vengeful woman," the Hokage said from his prime vantage point at his desk. Minato got up hastily and bowed to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama," he said. A pause. "Your assistant, you said?"

"Yes, she's been here for the past six years. Seriously, Minato-kun, I know you've just come back a month ago, but I thought you'd recognise the new faces by now," the Hokage reprimanded, amused. Minato rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He was never too good with faces. Or with people skills, though his boyish charisma helped him coast through.

"Anyway, I called you here for business." Amusement evaporated from the Hokage, and Minato straightened; the Sandaime was serious. "How goes things at the frontlines?"

"We're still holding up, sir. For now."

"Casualties?"

"One ANBU, two jounin, eight chunnin, sir," Minato replied, his insides churning. That ANBU had been his friend. The Hokage let out a tired breath.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," he grumbled to himself. To Minato, he said, "You've done well. Take another month off to relax and prepare before you go off again."

"Thank you, sir."

"Oh, and before you go –" the Hokage scribbled his signature on a piece of paper and passed it to him "– please send this over to the Academy."

Minato sneaked a peek at its contents and froze. "Hokage-sama," he said carefully. "Is this…?"

"Yes, it is." The Hokage looked away. The time has come for unbearable choices to be made, but it didn't mean he had to like it.

"You're the last squad captain to report to me, Minato-kun. Out of all of you, your team fared the best," he said. Minato crunched the numbers, eyes widening when he totaled the estimated casualties Konoha had borne. It was well over a hundred.

"But…the kids," he struggled to say, because what was there to say? Konoha was short of manpower, and Academy ninja-wannabes were still potential ninja. This way, Konoha would last longer without losing too many of their big guns. It was cruel and efficient.

"Yes, the kids," the Hokage agreed. "Kids no more." Suddenly he looked too old and small to be carrying the weight of so many lives. "You may go," he said, returning to his desk. Minato bowed and left.

The paper weighed like a stone in his hand. It was a desperate decision, one no one liked, one necessary for big wars such as this. Minato hated it.

The Academy students were still so happy, tumbling around in the training grounds when Minato arrived. They stared at him until he disappeared with a shunshin, then resumed their play. Minato watched them from the administrative office window with a heavy heart.

"Hokage-sama asked me to pass this to you," he told the head teacher there, a retired jounin with one leg and one hand. He'd lost it during the Second Shinobi War. He read the edict with a grimace.

"So it's come to this then?" He looked out of the window, too. "Poor kids. They'll never know what hit them."

"…Yes." The two shinobi fell silent, contemplating the hardships that will come.

"And we have such a promising crop this time, too," Minato heard the jounin mutter. He winced.

"Well, maybe they'll grow faster on the battlefield." His words sounded hollow, even to him. He took his leave to brood alone.

He walked over to Kakashi's house, since he didn't feel like going anywhere fast. The boy, already two-year-old chunnin at the tender age of eight, was practising ninjutsu in his living room. Something Minato had already forbidden him to do. Sighing, Minato grabbed Kakashi's wrists. The chakra poofed away.

"What did I tell you about practising in the house, Kakashi?" he said. Kakashi huffed and looked away. He was a difficult child, anti-social and cold ever since the death of his father, Hatake Sakumo, who was blamed as the cause of the Third Shinobi War. The sins of the father was not lost on the son. In fact, with a sinking feeling, Minato thought that Kakashi was beginning to hate Sakumo, too. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.

"We have one more month off to relax," he told the boy, parroting the Sandaime's words. Kakashi frowned.

"We should train."

Minato bopped him on the head.

"Don't be an idiot!" he snapped before rubbing his face and groaning. "Sorry, Kakashi. It's not been a good day. Forgive me."

The hostile look Kakashi shot at him faded. Minato was, after all, the surrogate father-brother who'd plucked him out of his misery. He shuffled closer to Minato for an awkward pat. Minato passed a hand over his eyes in distress.

Then, fast as lightning, he grabbed Kakashi's hand and pulled him forward. The boy toppled onto Minato with an indignant gasp.

"Minato-sensei I hate you!" he shrieked, wiggling to get away from Minato's tickling fingers. Minato laughed and let go.

"Thanks, chibi. I needed that." He grinned at Kakashi, who looked like he regretted consoling his sensei in the first place. "Wanna go eat?"

"No," Kakashi said. He fished out a rations bar and began to chew on it. "Want one?" he offered.

"Nah, no thanks. Got enough of that in the field. If you eat just that you'll really be stuck as a chibi forever, chibi."

"Stop chibi-ing me," Kakashi muttered. "What did Hokage-sama say?"

Minato rolled over, his cheer dampened. "He's accelerating the graduating age of Academy students. There'll be more Konoha shinobi for the war soon."

"Good," Kakashi decided, and Minato's head snapped up to glare at him.

"It is not a good thing, Kakashi-kun. Many will lose their lives out there."

"I know." He shrugged. "So will I, so will you. We live to serve Konoha."

God, this was one screwed-up boy. Minato groaned. What did he do to deserve this?

Well, besides being Sakumo's favourite teammate (read: punching bag).

And being Kakashi's brotherly figure ever since he opened his tiny baby eyes.

And because he cared for the brat a whole damn lot, really, because the two only had each other left.

…There was no way he was getting out of this one, was there?

Minato hauled Kakashi up in a fireman's hoist. Sometimes, he just had to remind the kid that not everyone was a prodigy like him, and even prodigies have to relax. He chuckled.

"Let's get some shut-eye, kiddo."

"Put me down, darn it!"

"In your dreams," Minato teased, then he proceeded to sprawl over Kakashi on the bed despite the boy's thrashing.

Ah, the joy of having students. It never got old.

….

"Watch where you're going, you idiot!"

"Ah, ah, I'm sorry, _I'm sorry!_"

CRASH. BANG!

"NAMIKAZEEEEE!"

"Will you just accept my apology already, woman!" Minato yelped. He was currently running in the most undignified manner around the ground floor of the Hokage Tower, chased by a red-hot, angry she-devil. He was quite afraid for his life.

"YOU CRASHED INTO ONE WEEK'S WORTH OF PAPERWORK. ONE. _WEEK!_" Kushina howled. She was gaining on him. Terrified, Minato jumped into a shunshin – only to have her materialise even closer than before. Goosebumps rose on his skin. Kushina wasn't _human_.

"I said I'll help you rearrange them!" he yelled, avoiding the scissors that she brandished like a sword. Seriously, what lunatic let her be around sharp objects?

"I needed some of those today!" she snarled, jabbing at him. It missed his jounin jacket by a hair.

"So if you'd just stop attacking me, we could start right now!"

"And I'm supposed to forgive you for that!"

"Well, yeah!" he shot hotly. "That's normally how things work!"

"I don't do normal!"

"Yeah, I can see that!"

"Shut up, bastard!"

"Do you treat everyone like this?" Minato asked, avoiding her kick. "How does anyone put up with you?"

"They don't!" Was she _proud_ of that? "I don't care if you're the Hokage, if you ruin my paperwork you're gonna pay!"

A flood of killing intent filled the room. Minato froze, recognising the source. Kushina froze as well.

The Sandaime Hokage descended the steps one at a time, as though it was a normal day, filled with rainbows and unicorns. Everyone watched him come down.

"Well," he mused, "what do we have here?"

To Minato's dismay, Kushina found her tongue first.

"Nothing, jiji." _Jiji!_ Minato almost fainted at the scandalous way she addressed the most revered leader in the village.

"If there's nothing, then Minato-kun, please come up and meet me now." The killing intent pulsed once, then vanished along with the Sandaime. Minato hastily complied.

Oh, god. Minato slumped against the sturdy door of the Hokage's office after a sloppy shunshin, relieved beyond words. Kushina's frustrated wail reached him even up here. He shivered. A decision clicked into place.

His pet project Rasengan could be put on hold. He needed something much, much faster than the shunshin, and he needed it _now_. Like, the-next-time-he-met-angry-Kushina now.

(Years later, when the Hiraishin became his signature move, Minato never, ever told anyone the incentive behind his prized jutsu. Ever.)

He banged his head against the door, sighing.

"I warned you against unwise moves, Minato-kun." The Hokage had the audacity to sound amused. Minato shot him a half-hearted glare.

"It was an accident," he grumbled. "I'll go help her later."

"No, you won't have the time," the Hokage said. Minato's head shot up in surprise.

"I'm sure you know I've been looking for a successor, Minato-kun. Who do you think are the likely candidates?"

Minato mulled over it in his head. "I'm not sure, but if I were to hazard a guess, perhaps one of the Sannin?"

The Hokage's mouth curled up in a smile. "I've considered them, yes," he admitted. "But in the light of…certain things…I've considered someone else too. You, Minato-kun."

"M-Me?" Okay, he must have heard it wrong. There was no way the Hokage said–

"Namikaze Minato. From now on, you are my successor, and once you learn the ropes, you'll be Yondaime Hokage. Congratulations." The Sandaime was smirking now.

"There'll be a meeting with all the shinobi in an hour. I'll make the announcement then, so be prepared," he finished. His words dropped on Minato like hammers.

An hour? He wanted to melt into a puddle right now! What would Kakashi say?

Snicker, no doubt.

Minato groaned. Kakashi was going to have a field day, he just knew it. He shuffled downstairs in a daze.

"Oi, watch where you're going. I'll skin you alive if you bump into my papers a second time!"

"I'm sorry," he blurted before he realised who it was. "Oh, it's you."

"Yes, me," Kushina snapped, glaring. "Move, will you?"

He flattened himself against the wall obligingly. She walked past him, suspicious, but he did nothing so she continued on her way to the Hokage's office, no doubt to burden the poor man with more paperwork.

Paperwork that would soon be his, if this played out. With Kushina as his assistant.

He shivered again.

The one hour was up too soon, and Minato found himself stuck on a podium as the Sandaime Hokage addressed the shinobi who amassed around them, like so many tiny ants. He never knew he had so many comrades.

"Shinobi of Konoha," the Hokage's voice boomed. "I called you here today to make a very important announcement. I am old –" the crowd rippled with disapproval, and he waited for them to calm before continuing "– as I was saying, I am old, and the war is becoming more serious. I think it is time for some new blood. Someone who has led his team through battle after battle, victory after victory, alive!"

The crowd roared. His guts twisted, remembering the ten death reports he'd submitted to the Hokage just three days ago. Alive, his ass.

"Shinobi, I give you…Namikaze Minato!"

"NAMIKAZE!" the crowd yelled, delighted. They knew him, of course they knew him. Now it was his task to know _them_. It was a humbling thought.

The Sandaime Hokage grinned and smacked him on the back. "Go on, give a speech," he encouraged.

Minato wasn't sure what he said. It was probably something really idiotic, but the crowd loved it anyway. They went wild.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted a gob-smacked Kushina, and an idea hatched in his mind.

_I'm future Hokage_, he mouthed at her, grinning wide when she shot a furious look at him.

Revenge was sweet indeed.

And if she muttered something about dumb blonds…well, he wasn't dumb.

He was, unfortunately, dumb enough to anger the Red-Hot Habanero.

- Chapter 1: End.

Aaaand that's how they met. In explosive Kushina-style. Kick back and enjoy the show!

Special thanks to **cybercorpsesnake, SpartanM60, Igornerd, Duesal10 **for reviewing the prologue. And as always, feedback will be greatly appreciated, so send 'em right over!


	3. 2: Ball's A-Rollin'

**Secrets**

_Kushina has two secrets. One was the Kyuubi. The other was something much, much worse. And then Minato came along and loved her anyway._

**IMPORTANT NOTE: ****This story is now slightly-AU. **I'll try to stick to canon ages and pre-Naruto history as much as I can, but Kishimoto ain't making it easy. So any deviations should be considered the AU parts of this story, 'kay?

That said, gosh, I'M FREE! No more uni - at least for a while! Which means I can write all I want now hahaha!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

2: Ball's A-Rollin'

"Do you think he'll see me?" Mikoto asked, wringing her kunoichi garb. "I mean, I know Hokage-sama's busy…."

"Mikoto," Kushina sighed. "Trust me, he's free right after this guy. I should know, I'm his assistant after all, dattebane!" She flashed her childhood friend a cheeky grin and a thumbs-up, though she herself was churning with anticipation at the Hokage's answer. She was with Mikoto on this.

She knew they were at war. How could she not, when she was the Hokage's assistant? She just didn't expect her own daughter to be dragged into this mess. Mikoto, whose even younger brother would be graduating along with Rika, felt the same way.

It was surprising she hadn't thrown a tantrum at the Hokage for bypassing her all those months ago when he sent the emergency order to the Academy. Yet. It would be soon, if he didn't see things her way. Her knuckles cracked under her paper-laden table.

Just then, the Hokage's door opened and the ambassador of God-knew-what country strode out, looking pleased with himself. Mikoto watched him go, stiff as a doe. Kushina waited an appropriate amount of time (which was the time taken for the door to swing shut) before kicking Mikoto under the table.

"Your turn!" she exclaimed, nudging her friend away. "Go on now, shoo, I'm busy with work, can't you see? Haaaa stupid paperwork!"

Mikoto chuckled despite herself. Kushina would always be Kushina. Excusing herself, she stood up and entered the Hokage's room when he granted her entry.

He was seated behind his desk, as usual, with a tobacco pipe propped up against a dish while he signed pile after pile of his dreaded paperwork. In this he and Kushina were quite united: paperwork was The Worst Nightmare on Earth. He looked altogether too happy to abandon them to solve her woes.

"What can I do for you, Mikoto-chan?" he asked, steepling his fingers. His seriousness was rather ruined by the blots of ink that stained the underside of his hand, but Mikoto refrained from commenting about it. Instead, she drew herself up, preparing her speech.

"Hokage-sama, it's about Itachi-kun."

"No."

"He's just…wait, what?" Mikoto blinked, speech forgotten.

"I said no. Itachi-kun will be graduating with the rest of his class this year. Is that all?" His relief at his distraction from paperwork had all but disappeared, and although he didn't continue perusing them, he didn't encourage the conversation, either. It made her feel like an intruder.

"Hokage-sama, please," Mikoto begged, "he is but a child." The Hokage sighed.

"No shinobi is a child," he said. "Do you have any idea how many parents have come to me with the same plea? If I grant them Konoha will lose the war." He paced behind his desk, his irritation cracking through his neutral façade.

"I'm truly sorry, Mikoto-chan," he said heavily. "There is nothing I can do."

Mikoto's shoulders slumped. "I…understand, Hokage-sama. Thank you for listening to me."

She bowed and left, leaving the old man riddled with guilt in his office.

Kushina's impatient fingers drummed a rapid rhythm that could be heard all the way from the Hokage's door. She looked up the moment it swung open.

"How was it, how was it?" she asked, banging her table. It was so childish and so Kushina that Mikoto laughed despite her despair. She shook her head.

"It's no use," she sighed. "They will graduate and be deployed as soon as possible." She dropped into Kushina's chair and buried her face in her hands. Kushina growled and started for the Hokage's door – only to find it sealed shut. Veins popped in her head.

"Jiji! If you think that I can't undo this seal, think again! How dare you make Mikoto cry!"

"But I'm not crying, Kushina," Mikoto said, amused. Kushina shushed her and winked.

"Theatrics," she whispered, then screamed right through the keyhole, "You're the most ungentlemanly man ever! So there!"

"Kushina!" Mikoto gasped, clapping her hand to Kushina's mouth to block more foul words. "You can't say that, he's the Hokage!"

"I'll say what I bloody want!" Kushina garbled through her restraints. Mikoto grimaced at the spit wetting her hand.

"Kushina…I don't know how or why the Hokage lets you get away with stuff like this, but he's stressed enough. He's got to take care of the entire village, not just you and me, or Rika-chan and Itachi-kun." It pained her to admit it, but she knew it was true. "We'll just make sure they're ready for it, okay?"

"No!" Kushina struggled, but Mikoto's vice grip over her mouth stayed. Finally she deflated and groaned. "I know, I know. It's just that…they're kids, you know? It seemed like just yesterday we were changing their diapers and now they're gonna be shinobi and…" she trailed off, frustrated.

"It has to happen sometime. It's just that they'll be graduating a few years early, that's all." Mikoto cracked a smile. "At least they can say they graduated faster than us, eh?"

"Yeah, Rika-chan will have a field day." The corners of Kushina's mouth twitched upwards at the thought. Crisis averted, Mikoto withdrew her hand – and proceeded to wipe the saliva on Kushina's cheeks.

"That's for spitting into my hand," she said triumphantly, disappearing in a shunshin before Kushina could compute the cold, slimy feeling.

"MIKOTOOOOOO!"

"Ahem. Can you please lower your voice? It's too loud."

Her eyebrow ticked. How dare he? "Too loud? I'll give you too loud," she growled, whirling round. Minato raised his hands as a sign of defeat. Well, 'hand' would be more accurate, seeing as the other was mauled and was dripping blood all over the floor. Minato suppressed a wince at her glare.

"Please don't," he said, as politely as he could. It was hard to stay polite, a bit harder to stay upright. Minato wavered and blinked at her through a haze. Kushina's ire evaporated.

"You should be in the hospital, not here," she told him, moving to support him on his less injured side. Minato hissed when she jostled a fractured rib.

"Report first. Is Hokage-sama in?"

Yes, he was, and in a foul mood too, but Kushina could sense that this was one of the moments she couldn't spare the old man continuous psychological burdens, so she nodded and led Minato into the Hokage's office. He gave her a grateful nod as she shut the door behind her.

"Report, shinobi," the Hokage said, voice sharp upon seeing the state of his ninja. "You're not due to return for another two weeks. What happened?"

"We were operating under outdated and possibly fake intel, sir. Kumo had intended for us to find out after all. When I led a team to the site to investigate, they engaged to capture. I managed to hold them off, but returning to camp for an able-bodied ninja to inform you would take too long, so I came here." Minato took a deep, rattling breath and closed his eyes, fighting fatigue. "Four casualties. All jounin."

The Hokage's pen clicked shut. "I see," he said. He closed his eyes too.

"Platoon Seven requests additional back-up, sir. With the recent casualties our numbers have dropped too low."

"Granted. Choose five teams of chunnin and jounin available on the duty roster. The Academy graduates will become genin in a week, so you can take some of them, too, if you want."

Children on the battlefield. This war was disastrous. "No, no genin yet, thank you Hokage-sama," he said. The last thing he wanted to do was break in fresh genin in the life-death reality of the frontlines. Or recon, or any other lethal missions for that matter. Minato had grown up in a war and knew what it felt like first-hand. He didn't want to lead the next generation through the same.

The Sandaime Hokage, who had experienced two wars and was now embroiled in a third, nodded his understanding. There were few things he disliked more than telling parents about the deaths of their children. He tried to inform them himself; he didn't want the news to be an impersonal sheet of paper. It always hurt. So he understood Minato's hesitance, albeit from a different perspective.

"Go to the hospital," the Hokage said. "You've left your second-in-command there, right? Take as long as you need to heal before going back. Thank you for your work, Minato-kun."

Minato dropped into an awkward bow then left the room. The cloying sense of depression was getting on his nerves, although he knew it wasn't intentional. He clutched his broken arm. Belatedly, he realised that he'd left a puddle of blood on the Hokage's carpet.

He doubted Kushina would appreciate the extra work.

Speaking of which, she was headed towards him now, arms crossed and brow furrowed. Minato prepared himself for a confrontation and was surprised when she touched his neck to read his pulse. She frowned.

"It's not too bad, Namikaze-san, but you best go to the hospital soon. Can you walk?"

"Yes, thank you," he said, unsure about the new, feminine version of the red banshee. She trailed him to the lobby in awkward silence. Wary eyes and ears tracked her steps behind him. He turned round to fix her a weary look.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Uzumaki-san?"

"I think the correct question is what I can do for you, Namikaze." There she went, all rude again, forgoing the honorific after his name. This Kushina he knew. He waved her off.

"I'll just go to the hospital and get myself sorted out," he said, walking out of the door, right into the path of several running shinobi. He leaped back inside, hissing when the movement jarred his injuries. He braced himself against the door frame to let his nausea pass. Kushina, who was still in the lobby, sighed and slipped under his uninjured arm.

"Come on, let's go to the hospital."

Minato didn't argue.

He also didn't see the gleam in her eye.

He fell into step beside Kushina. She guided more than supported him – he wasn't that far gone yet – but he allowed himself to fall into complacence, trusting her lead.

Big mistake.

"What are you – Uzumaki–!"

"It's payback for last time, Namikaze!" she cackled, grinning as she zipped through the streets. People stared at them…or rather, at Minato, carried bridal-style in her arms. Minato tried to dislodge himself to no avail; she was strong and fast, and he was injured. Minato's cheeks reddened.

"What are people going to think about this?" he half-groaned, half-muttered into his hand. Kushina grinned wider.

"I'll be sure to help them along," she promised. "And if you grope my breasts again, I'll kill you." Minato withdrew hurriedly.

"How else was I to push you?" he complained. "This is embarrassing!"

"Just let it run its course, Namikaze, lest I make it even more embarrassing for you."

And because Minato really, really couldn't fight anymore, he just covered his eyes, leaned against her shoulder, and sighed.

There went his pride.

….

Or not. Somehow, Kushina's grand plan to embarrass him had backfired: instead of humiliating him, it endeared him to all the nurses who took pity on Minato, whose injuries were so serious he had to be carried into the hospital. They fussed over him like enraptured hens.

He'd rather be shamed.

Kushina, it seemed, wasn't that heartless. Despite her evil masterplan to ruin his life, she checked up on him every day and shooed away his admirers, however brief. She healed him a bit too. As it turned out, she was an average medic-nin; she'd spent some time in the hospital learning the ropes when she started her desk job. She couldn't do anything advanced due to her horrible chakra control – something Kushina swore revenge on when he laughed at it – but she could heal cuts and massage muscles, among other things, so it was better than nothing. It also gave him a chance to see a different side of her.

The way she stuck out her tongue when she concentrated. The way she flicked her hair. The way she talked, very feminine, very unlike the crazed Red-Hot Habanero version he was used to seeing. It was like seeing a whole new person, and Minato was ashamed of his shallow assumption of her. Of course people were different up close. Even he was.

It took him three long, torturous days to recuperate in the hospital, during which he suffered what had to be at least half the female medic-nin population coming into his ward for whatever reason they deigned to give. The non-medic-nin population stayed in the lobby as his ward was not to be disclosed. Thank heavens for small mercies!

He left at noon, when he knew most of the staff were on lunch break, so that he could avoid the thronging mass of well-wishers he used to get every time he left the hospital. It didn't help that the current batch of iryou-nin had many of his former Academy…female acquaintances…okay, fangirls. He wondered how their boyfriends were okay with this.

He smiled in relief when he sneaked out of the hospital door. He was safe, and now he could hide. Kakashi's place sounded appealing.

"Oh, Namikaze-san, you're out."

He stopped. "Uzumaki-san? Shouldn't you be working?"

"Lunch break," she said. "And besides, it was on the way. Here, lunch." She shoved a bentou into his hands.

On the way? He mulled over the question as he watched her retreating back. Where was she headed? There weren't many places to go where she was headed. The hospital, like the Hokage Tower, was near the centre, but the path she was on led to just two places: the Memorial Stone and the Academy.

He was hurrying after her before he could think. "Wait!" he blurted. "Where are you going?"

"Where I go is my own business, Namikaze." Now that he was deemed healed and well, she returned to her rude self. Minato was almost sorry he spoke out at all.

"I just wanted to say thank you. For your help at the hospital."

"And the trip to the hospital?"

"That, too. I owe you one." One favour for the hospital help, not for the failed prank she pulled, but she didn't have to know that.

She smiled at him, and he was struck by how different she looked with a normal smile. She tucked her hair behind her ear and cocked her head to the side.

"I'll hold you to that," she said. She glanced at the sun. "Oh crap I'm late! See you later bye!"

Minato blinked, and she was gone. Undeterred, he tracked her, intent on securing a dinner appointment as thanks. She either didn't notice or didn't care that he was following her. They flickered to a halt in front of the Academy gates, having shunshined the last leg of the journey. She crossed her arms and glared.

"Why are you still here?" she demanded. "You're healed now, so stop behaving like a little lamb and get lost."

Minato cringed at her stinging words but held his ground. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know why you stopped talking to me a few years ago, or why you're so different now, or why we're always arguing…yet you still took care of me in the hospital. So thanks for that."

"You're a friend," she snapped, turning away. "Of course I'd help you. Who do you take me for?"

"We're friends?" he asked, faintly teasing. She snorted and he hurried to continue before she shut him off completely. "Uzumaki-san, would you like to go out for dinner with me? Consider it my thanks."

"What?" Kushina pried herself from the Academy long enough to give him a wide-eyed stare. "Namikaze, you have no idea how many women would die to have you say that to them."

"Ah, would they?" He'd rather not find out. "I meant it as a casual thing, though. Like friends?"

The corners of her mouth twitched. "You're hopeless," she told him, fists on hips. "But okay."

"Mama, mama!" a girl cried, streaking away from the crowd of dismissed Academy students. To Minato's surprise, Kushina caught a young girl in a flying leap and embraced her.

"What did I tell you about jumping into my arms, Rika-chan?" she nagged, her voice light. Minato could tell that this argument had been rendered moot a long time ago. And she called Kushina 'mama'. He blinked in shock. So that would mean….

"Who's that guy, mama?" The girl – Rika – peered at him curiously as her arms snaked tighter around Kushina's neck. She wasn't afraid, just possessive. Kushina loosened Rika's grip and introduced Minato.

"He's a ninja like me and you. Rika-chan, Namikaze Minato; Namikaze, Rika-chan."

"The future Hokage? Whoa." She leaped out of Kushina's arms to land on Minato, dangling from his neck. She scrambled up and poked his cheek. "He's kinda cute," she told Kushina. "Why haven't I seen you around before?" This she directed at Minato.

"I'm out on missions a lot," he said, getting used to her rapid-fire questions. "Are you Uzumaki-san's daughter?"

"Duh! That's why I call her 'mama'!"

Kushina plucked Rika back into her arms and nosed her neck, making her squeal with laughter. "That's enough, Rika-chan. Time to go home." A single, guarded green eye poked daggers at him.

Who did she take him for, an idiot? Of course he wouldn't start asking questions in front of the child.

'Me and you', Kushina had said. Rika should be close to graduation, then. He calculated the years. Mid-teens. His brow rose. That was quite the young age to have a child, even in the shinobi world.

He wondered where her husband was, and why he'd never heard of him before. Kushina neither mentioned a partner nor wore a ring – but then again, most of their conversations tend to end up in spats.

With a start, he realised that she didn't reject his dinner appointment.

What would her husband think?

- Chapter 2: End.

It's almost three months late, but please forgive me this time - and CELEBRATE WITH ME. I'M NO LONGER A STUDENT. I'm so happy and that's probably one caps lock too many but meh hooray!

Keep the feedback rollin' over here and imma keep writing (and celebrating and celebrating again)!

Oh yeah, I'm mad.


	4. 3: Learning to Fly

**Secrets**

_Kushina has two secrets. One was the Kyuubi. The other was something much, much worse. And then Minato came along and loved her anyway._

**IMPORTANT NOTE: ****This story is now slightly-AU. **I'll try to stick to canon ages and pre-Naruto history as much as I can, but Kishimoto ain't making it easy. So any deviations should be considered the AU parts of this story, 'kay?

**DEFINITELY AU parts **(to avoid confusion):

1. Kushina and Minato's relationship

2. This Itachi is Mikoto's brother. Brother, not son.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

3: Learning to Fly

The war hit hard and fast. Kushina tried to hide it from her daughter, but nothing could stop the cogs of war once it started moving. Smiths worked hard at weapons and armour; training grounds were always full; and, closer to home, emergencies made child soldiers. She didn't want to call it that. Certainly it didn't feel that bad when she herself was part of the war between Kiri and Uzu when she was ten. But her daughter was six, and she was _her daughter_, which made the concept look very different.

It was hard to not resent the Sandaime for his decision, although she had been raised well enough to know the necessity of the move. The Academy's curriculum was sped up to disgorge new recruits as fast as possible. Almost no one failed. (Failure rate on the actual battlefield did not count, since they were almost guaranteed to die.)

And now, after six months of learning to kill (die) in the Academy, Rika would graduate today, and join the ranks of genin (cannon fodder) being sent to war. She'd begged the Sandaime to spare her daughter to no avail. The best he could do was to assign her future team to border patrol first, for her sensei to hopefully teach them enough skills to survive. It was better than nothing and luckier than most. She accepted it with a heavy heart.

She hoped the Sandaime would accept her offer, too, as she slid a letter towards the old man, who just looked at her knowingly. He opened the letter, skimmed its contents, nodded and signed his name with a flourish. Kushina released a pent-up breath.

The Hokage folded the letter and pushed it back to her. Steepling his fingers, the Hokage regarded her for a moment longer before speaking.

"I cannot guarantee you'll get what you want, Kushina. I hope you know that."

"I do, jiji. Don't worry. I'm sure you won't let me down!"

He blinked, a lecture on fairness and equality on his tongue, but it fell away at her cheeky grin. He relaxed and nodded again.

"Well, you know what paperwork to fill. Send it up and we'll see."

"Oh, they're already on top of stack No. 1," she said, grinning, nodding at the stack that the Hokage always reached for first out of habit. "Just to be sure you won't miss it."

He raised an eyebrow and extracted a sheet from the middle of stack No. 3 and signed it, just for kicks. Her grin faltered, especially when the stack teetered past the desktop.

"You get a kick outta pulling my leg, dontcha?" she grumbled. She slapped her forms on his desk and glared. "Here they are, jiji."

The Hokage beamed. "Why, you should've said so earlier, Kushina-chan! It would've saved us a lot of hassle!" The spark in her eyes grew.

The impending explosion was, luckily, stopped by the blessed pile of signed paperwork. Kushina took them and leafed through them happily, anger forgotten. The Hokage's mouth twitched at the quicksilver emotional switch.

"Thanks jiji!" With that, she skipped out of the room, leaving the Hokage to his stacks of paperwork.

He looked at the two new extra stacks and groaned.

….

Her thoughts should have been on her daughter's upcoming graduation, but instead they were on the pile of papers waiting for her in the Tower. She trembled whenever she remembered it. Mikoto might have noticed. Or maybe not. She was fussing over Itachi, not that the little guy needed it. Cool as cucumber, he was. Sometimes Kushina envied her friend for her calm brother, so different from Rika despite being the same age.

Rika was currently monkeying around the room with a likeness that put the entire Sarutobi clan to shame. Kushina face-palmed and caught her daughter in mid-leap.

"Ack!" Rika choked, eyes bulging as her body was arrested while the rest of her hurtled free to splat onto the far wall. She spluttered all about it in horrifying detail when Kushina spun her round to face her properly and proceeded to tug Rika's hair into its usual messy ponytail. One day, Kushina would let her wear it down, just like how Rika begged her every morning, but not now, not until she'd mastered the art of protecting herself. Until then, long, tied-up hair was her compromise.

Rika moaned about it and tugged at her rubber-band, but didn't dare to pull it free. Kushina pinched her cheek and grinned.

"It's time, kiddo," she said, forcing herself to sound cheerful. Her insides were being mauled by butterflies – and it was a weird feeling, because weren't butterflies the gentlest creatures ever? – but she couldn't worry about it any longer because Rika was beginning to catch on, the clever child. Kushina exhaled and tried again. "Ready to graduate yet?"

Rika pumped her fists. "You bet I am! You saw how I trumped the grad test right, mama, right? I totally passed it like whoa!"

At that, Kushina laughed, remembering how Rika had used her Bunshin test to pull one last prank on her least favourite teacher. She'd combined all three ninjutsu tests, actually, and made a bunshin of herself, henge-d herself into a snake, then Kawarimi-ed with her teacher's grading slate – and bit him in the neck. The poor guy would never look at slates the same way again.

And Kushina would have to live with how Rika had given her first hickey without ever learning about what such things meant in adult relationships, but she didn't dare dwell on that. She wasn't sure who she'd castrate otherwise.

Rika sulked at her mother's laughter and struggled away to find Itachi, who was just about ready to go. Mikoto followed not far behind, deft hands fixing any problems with her appearance. Kushina just raked her fingers through her hair and that was it. Mikoto smiled when she saw her friend.

"We're a little early, but I don't think anyone's complaining," she said, winking at Rika-chan, the resident not-morning-person of their group. Rika's indignant "Oi!" drew laughter from everyone in the room.

"C'mon, let's go," Kushina said, still grinning. She held out a hand to Rika. "You wanna walk or fly?"

"Fly! No, wait, walk, 'cuz I'm not a kid anymore…but flying's cool! Let's fly! But uhm…."

Kushina rolled her eyes. "We're walking then."

"Aww, but–!"

"You wanna appear adult, don't you?"

"Well, yes, but–"

"Then we're walking," Kushina said, walking out of the door. Mikoto and Itachi followed, bemused. The front door slammed not long after, and a muttering Rika caught up to them with a string of expletives that Mikoto was sure didn't belong to a six-year-old. Kushina had the decency to look appalled.

"Rika! Stop that at once, it's rude!"

Rika looked at her, confused. "But mama, you do it too, don't you?"

"Why you…" Kushina buried her head in her hands and groaned while Mikoto laughed_. Hindsight's always 20-20, eh, Kushina-chan? _

"You're not helping, Mikoto-chan. Stop encouraging her!"

"Hm? I thought that was you – she said so, too." Mikoto arched an eyebrow. Kushina wailed.

"You're supposed to support me, not her! What'll this teach her about friends, huh, huh? Teach the kids right!"

"And the first thing we'll learn is how to be late," Rika said, pointing at the sun. "So do we fly yet? But put me down before we reach the Academy – I wanna walk in."

Kushina shot her a dirty look but let her climb onto her back anyway. Mikoto carried Itachi in her arms. With that, the group of four took to the roofs, soaring in the air much faster than on the ground, and they caught sight of the Academy with some time to spare. As promised, Kushina let Rika walk the last hundred metres into the Academy, and after a quick mental conversation with Mikoto, she shunshined away. A bunshin of herself popped into existence as she left.

She reached the Hokage's tower just in time. The Sandaime's gaze washed over her, indifferent in this formal setting. She took a deep breath, tried to relax, ignored her guilt, and stepped into place at the back of the small group.

There were six of them, four men and two women, all armed with the standard jounin uniform of Konoha. At the Hokage's nod, they shunshin-ed as one to the jounin training barracks. Kushina fisted her hands to keep them from trembling.

She would not, could not fail here.

None of them bothered with introductions – or reintroductions, as it were. They'd all met before, during the main vetting process of potential jounin senseis. She'd failed that one no thanks to a combination of bad match-ups and a _very inconvenient_ time of the month that left her cramping throughout the whole damn thing. So she'd appealed, and there were enough appeals to warrant a second vetting. Konoha was getting quite the bounty crop of jounin senseis this time, many of them parents to children who were in the graduating batch.

The six of them formed pairs. Kushina eyed her opponent, a Masamori-something. The slim woman wore a small weapons pouch, and tight clothes under that jounin vest, nothing that impeded movement. Probably a melee specialist, then. Kushina bowed and prepared to strike.

She would win this and pass the test, despite her less-than-stellar team test. She _would_, dattebane!

Her match-up this time wasn't too bad. She was a taijutsu and ninjutsu specialist, with both short- and long-range attacks, so she had an advantage over her short-range-only melee opponent. She exploited it to the fullest. Kick. Punch. Pivot. Jutsu. Another jutsu. Parry. Punch. And on and on, a flurry of movement vague on details, but she remembered the important bits.

Like how she'd won, in the end.

She grinned fiercely and shook hands with her opponent, joy and hope bubbling like lava in her chest. The other two pairs were concluding their fights as well, engaging to capture and not to kill as per mission objective. She caught the Hokage's eye, but he looked away. That was all right. Here they were not pseudo-father-and-daughter, not boss and secretary. They were war leader and recruit, and there was no place for affection no matter how much she would've liked some assurance.

She twitched as she noted the position of the sun in the sky. The Academy graduation ceremony was almost over. The Hokage's speech washed over her like a hive of bees, stinging away. Two men, who'd sparred against each other, passed the test. That left one more slot. The second pair failed. It was either her or Masamori.

She watched the Hokage with bated breath–

–And reined in her disappointment when Masamori's name was announced, because she couldn't be reeling when she reunited with Rika at the Academy later. She bowed at the Hokage and disappeared in consecutive shunshins to leave the bitterness behind.

There was no time to dispel her kage bunshin when she arrived. Rika bounced right up to her then skidded uncertainly. Wasn't her mother behind her with Mikoto-oba-san? But – no, she wasn't, Mikoto and Itachi came out of the crowd alone, Itachi wearing his brand-new hitai-ate. She patted her own headband and grinned.

"Mama, mama! I passed, and I'm on Team Five now, mama! You saw who my teammates were, right? They strong? I don't think so, I'll totally own the team, huh?"

And because she had not merged with her clone yet, Kushina could not reply. Guilt crushed her as she diverted the conversation instead.

"Don't look down on your teammates, kiddo, they'll be your best friends and second family for life," she chided, ruffling Rika's hair. "But congrats. What about some ramen to celebrate, hm?" She looked over at Mikoto and Itachi. "We're going for ramen, want some?"

Itachi nodded, so Mikoto agreed. Her inquisitive eyes searched Kushina's face as she signed subtly under her sleeve. _Passed?_

_No, _Kushina signed back. She swallowed and gathered her daughter, hugging her extra tight. _Who's her team? Her sensei? _The senseis for the first passing batch had been decided earlier in the week, and Mikoto had made the cut while she had not. Those who appealed would get students who failed but insisted on being a ninja, or students who failed the team test but showed promise as an individual. These would form new teams. And as much as she loved Rika, she didn't really want her to fail on the off-chance that Kushina could get her on her team, if she'd passed the test. She hadn't, anyway.

_Itachi-kun and branch Hyuuga, _Mikoto replied, but before she could reply in the face of Kushina's surprise at hearing of an Uchiha and a Hyuuga thrown together – what a ticking bomb! – Rika butted in.

"We're gonna have a test tomorrow with our jounin sensei, mama, I'm so excited!" Then, to Kushina's greater surprise, Rika swung over to Mikoto's side and kidnapped her arm.

"Ne, Mikoto-oba-san, won't you tell us what test you'll give tomorrow?" she wheedled. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Mikoto chuckled as Kushina's jaw hit the floor. _Hook, line and sinker._ "No, Rika-chan, you and Itachi-kun'll have to pass on your own wit," she said, smiling. "I'm sure you'll do well."

"Damn right I will!" she said, then she squealed when Kushina smacked her shoulder.

"Language!" she barked, more out of shock than actual anger. "Mikoto-chan, I'm so glad it's you. At least it's someone I know." _At least I can trust you to keep her safe._ Mikoto nodded.

"One pork ramen, please," she said to the chef, ducking under the ramen shop's curtain. Kushina, Rika, and Itachi followed up with their own orders, and soon their respective bowls of noodles arrived enticingly on the counter. Kushina slurped hers up in five seconds flat and ordered another.

"Still not worried about indigestion, I see," Mikoto said, after swallowing her first mouthful of ramen. Kushina snorted.

"Never," she proclaimed, "and I won't be starting anytime soon. Rika can eat normally enough for the two of us."

Of course, her definition of 'normal' was relative. It was still twice as fast as Mikoto and Itachi, and that was with Rika shooting her mouth off about her team and shinobi life in general. Kushina listened with a wistful ear.

Was it really six years ago that she'd met Rika for the first time? It seemed impossible. She couldn't imagine a life without her…but now she would have to live with the fact that the nightmare could be real, now that the war had reached her doorstep.

How did shinobi mothers live with this risk?

Then she saw Rika's happy smile and remembered her guts, and thought she'd learn how, and it wasn't that bad since she'd be surrounded by people she knew, loved and trusted with her life, anyway. Mikoto could stand in for Kushina. Well…maybe not her brashness. Or her rudeness. Or her pranking tendencies. Or-a whole lot of other things, really.

Oh shit.

But if Itachi's tolerance of Rika's bullying and Mikoto's indulgent smile were anything to go by, she'd be okay.

Yep. She'd tell herself that until she believed it, dattebane!

- Chapter 3: End.

The chapter was originally longer to add some Kushina-Minato interaction, but if I ramble any longer it'll be inconsistent with the lengths of the previous chapters so I'll stop here for now and try to upload the next one as soon as possible.

Like it? Hate it? Please give some feedback, with many thanks!


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